Konono Nº1

With kalimba and percussion distorted past the brink of avant-garde thanks to a system of homemade speakers constructed from junkyard scraps, the original Congotronics album positioned Kinshasa’s Konono Nº 1 as the hippest world music act this century, as if Ziggy Stardust had played thumb piano instead of guitar. They’ve become Berlin regulars over the last couple of years, even as BSR’s ardour has crunched any hopes of scavenging.